Archive for the ‘S/W’ Category

Grupo Sud is the conversion of an old perfume factory into an open work space for a holding of 4 companies that are fully integrated in the marketing, production, design and communication areas. The building is located in the city of Santiago, in the “Italia” neighborhood that encompasses design, art and decoration luxury stores.

The design of the Vila Romana Residence is derived from the twin imperatives of topography and usage.

It is situated on a corner plot with views of the town’s principal valley, with a drop of 10 meters from one side of the plot to the other.

The first question to be tackled was that of creating an artificial terrain that would allow for easy transit around the external areas and their use for day-to-day activities. The landscaping was determined by the creation of these areas.

The New Contemporary Art Wing Expansion to the Lima Art Museum located in the 19th century Exposition Palace, creates a strong architectural dialogue between the historical structure and the new expansion; they connect without touching. The project requirement to create a below grade expansion to the current museum without touching the historical structure below or above grade, resulted in a careful exploration of how to spatially connect these two buildings that cannot physically connect.

A neighbourhood family had a redundant piece of land, and offered that to “Het Da Vinci College” , a school for animal care and gardening, with pupils who require additional support. They didn’t know where this would end, because there was a plot, lots of enthusiasm, involvement, from the school, neighbourhood and city council, but neither the skills, nor the money to realise the project. That’s where RO&AD architects stepped in. With help of the Province of Noord-Brabant, Visavis Landscape designers, who gave a small budget, they designed a plan which made it possible to be made by the teachers, the pupils, and the neighbourhood themselves. It is a 6 meters wide and 100 meters long timber structure, with relatively easy to make trusses, which are held together by nail plates. All rooms, like the classroom, animal room, greenhouses etc are placed in a row, without any room and money devouring things like halls or hallways. When Rini, a teacher at the school, saw this, he became so enthusiastic, that he offered to make the building himself. And that is what happened. He postponed his retirement for 2 years, and together with neighbours, students and lots of other people he started to work. Under the guidance of a contractor and the architects, he built the school, and the garden in 1 ½ year’s time. And it works! Neighbours are taking down their fences to get access to the school garden. They take care of the plants and the animals during the holidays, and the students finally have a place where they can be proud of to work on.

The administrative center is located at the heart of the ExpoCité complex, near the Centre de foires de Québec and the Pavillon de la Jeunesse. The project includes a shared lobby, a wharf, storage and archiving spaces, a rest area, men and women changing rooms, an exhibition room, a waiting room with front desk, extensive individual and group work spaces, offices and printing area.

Hyundai’s “Modern Premium” strategy – the concern’s definition of quality encompassing technology, functionality, design, comfort and sustainability – formed the basis for an invited architectural competition to find a correspondingly comprehensive design concept, which could be simultaneously applied to all of Hyundai’s spatially very diverse locations.

In Linköping’s new district Vallastaden, Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture has built plus-energy houses with solar cells on the roof. The solution means that the houses produce more energy than needed and it is possible to sell the surplus to electricity companies.

10- 15 years ago the topic of mobility gained momentum in the Hungarian contemporary architecture. Many young architects realised that a major task of the next generation of architects/enginiers and urban designes will be the redefinition and reshaping of the existing urban infrastructure. Architecture and mobility will have implications not only on the traffic systems (means of traffic) of the 21st century, they will have impact on social spaces, public parks, as well.

A unique monumental architectural intervention, inspired by the elegant shapes of early 20th century airships, is growing on the rooftop of one of the largest contemporary art spaces in the heart of Europe. The 42 meter-long steel and wood structure will become a new permanent space for literature at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague, Czech Republic.

The design of Copine restaurant frames the open kitchen, offering guests a view into the artistry behind chef Shaun McCrain’s approach to contemporary American cuisine highlighted with classic French cooking techniques. Equal parts intimate and social, the space offers a scale of transparency throughout, allowing the food to take center stage.